Certain N-aryl-piperazine derivatives possess pharmaceutical activity. In particular, certain N-aryl piperazine derivatives act on the central nervous system (CNS) by binding to 5-HT receptors. In pharmacological testing, it has been shown that the certain N-aryl-piperazine derivatives bind to receptors of the 5-HT1A type. Many of the N-aryl piperazine derivatives exhibit activity as 5-HT1A antagonists. See, for example, W. C. Childers, et al., J. Med. Chem., 48: 3467-3470 (2005), U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,465,482, 6,127,357, 6,469,007, and 6,586,436, and PCT Publication No. WO 97/03982, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Pharmaceutical compounds that interact with the 5-HT1A receptor are useful to treat a wide variety of central nervous system disorders, such as cognition disorders, anxiety disorders, and depression. The present invention is directed to novel 5-HT1A antagonists and agonists, which would be useful for these and other uses.